For over a decade now Los Angeles based Iress has been offering their own take on shoegaze, doom, alternative rock, and everything in between. Where some of the other bands in this space used doom as their foundation and layered the softer, dreamier textures over top, Iress has often felt more rock and shoegaze forward with a metallic sheen. Each of their full lengths has continued to tweak and revise this formula, with Sleep Now, In Reverse presenting the most complete version of their vision to date. Like the path Spotlights took on their last effort, Iress has varied the tempo more and incorporated even more musical styles while still retaining their somber beauty and heavier foundation. It’s a bit more immediate than its predecessors while providing plenty of details to uncover upon repeat listens, and showcases this group only seems to be getting better with age.
Where Flaw seemed to immediately emphasize the weightier and gloomier side of Iress’ sound, Sleep Now, In Reverse opts to start off on a brighter note with opener “Falling”. The slower, methodical tempo and weight of the bass and drums still bring plenty of the shoegaze and doom elements that the band has showcased throughout their career, but the way the guitar melodies seem to dance over the recording give a more dreamlike feel right from the start. From this point onwards it becomes clear just how much more variety the group has for listeners on this latest effort, as where some of their prior material was a bit more uniform in tempo and tonality that’s not true here. Songs like “Lovely (Forget Me Not)” are perfect examples, as it moves at a brisker and almost playful pace while the guitar work feels like shoegaze and alternative rock crossed with some of grunge’s somberness. On the other end of the spectrum, “Mercy” and “Sanctuary” slow things back down significantly, letting the instrumentation build from minimal textures and haunting melodies to crashing peaks where the metallic sheen is back on full display. The back and forth between the more 90s alternative rock/grunge influences and the power and weight of the shoegaze/doom comes together in a way that’s more immediate than some of Iress’ back catalog, as there are more hooks that stand out on that first listen. At times the sound treads closely to artists like Emma Ruth Rundle and King Woman, but the way that everything comes together still gives Sleep Now, In Reverse a feel of its own. While it’s still a somber listen there are some hauntingly beautiful moments to the instrumentation, and the injection of some faster tempos and even more elements from across rock’s various sub-genres goes a long way. My only critique is closer “Deep”, which feels a little unnecessary after the climax of “Sanctuary” and with the way it kind of just meanders for a few minutes with sparser instrumentation makes it seem better served as an interlude rather than the final track.
There may be plenty of lush textures from the guitars that will draw listeners in, but Michelle Malley’s soaring voice continues to be what sets Iress over the top. Her pitch is pretty close to Emma Ruth Rundle’s at certain points with the way it seems to lightly hover over the recording before soaring into the clouds with a considerable amount of power during the song’s peaks, but I also hear a number of other 90’s singer/songwriters. “Lovely (Forget Me Not)” is a favorite of mine, as the way that Malley’s more somber and reflective tone intertwines with the moodier bass lines and shimmering guitars is stunning, and there are plenty of other moments throughout Sleep Now, In Reverse that have a similar sense of beauty. The album has also been mixed in a way that allows the vocals to take the spotlight without completely overwhelming the more subtle details from the rest of the band, giving listeners plenty to uncover as they spend more time with the material.
Iress has come a long way since their formation in 2010, and while their core approach of fusing alternative rock, shoegaze, and doom hasn’t wavered they’ve added even more outside influences and varied up their songwriting. Where some of their earlier discography may have felt a bit uniform in how the tracks progressed and their slower, methodical approach, the shift towards a blend of tempos makes for more immediate hooks while still allowing for expansive atmosphere. For me it also feels like the album from this group I’ve been able to connect with the most, and whether you enjoy the slowcore of the 90s, more recent “doomgaze” adjacent artists, or anything in between, this is a must listen. Sleep Now, In Reverse is available from Dune Altar and Church Road Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg